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Designing for Dolls Part 1: Customizing Doll Clothes/Five Ways

There are endless ways you can take something plain and make it your own. Whether you want to dress up a purchased item, or sewing one yourself, some are as simple as adding a bow to a bodice; others can be more complex, depending on your needs and your mood.

Here are Five Ways:

Glue Dye Resist
Among the many ways you can customize your own fabric, this is one that you might even try with your kids. Apply glue to your fabric, let dry, dye. This pretty design found at Sew Like My Mom

Glue on fabric before dying

Fabric after dying

Machine Embroidery
Some of us have fancy embroidery machines; others of us, like me, don’t. But most modern sewing machines do offer embroidery stitches, as mine does. You can use some of the decorative stitches to outline a plain neckline, or hem, like this dress by Sewsnbows.

Lace Overlay or Tier
Before attaching the skirt to a bodice, add a layer of lace to the skirt – either the same length or shorter to create a tier, like this dressby Beary Basics found at Zulily.

Add a Bow
Simple yet effective. Add a pretty bow in the same or contrasting fabric to the bodice of a dress. This lovely doll dress found on Pinterest

Paint with Crayons
Another fun project that could include the kids. Similar to the glue resist method, this technique involves using melted crayons applied to fabric. You can paint a design or, as done here, make polka dots using the eraser of a pencil. More info on this clever technique at Willowday.

Thank you for your kind words about my striped dress with the front bodice bow. It was created in the early days of my business when I knew much less about “branding!” The dress is a (heavily) modified version of a Liberty Jane pattern and was sold through my Etsy shop (www.Forever18Inches.etsy.com). Those who are interested in purchasing patterns from Liberty Jane or Forever 18 Inches can find them by visiting PixieFaire.com.